Prisoner 1082: Escape from Crumlin Road Prison, Europe''s Alcatraz

On 26 December 1960, 12,000 Ulster police and B Specials began one of their biggest manhunts. It was for Prisoner 1082 - Donal Donnelly - who had made a dramatic escape from the prison known as 'Europe's Alcatraz'. Using hacksaw blades, torn sheets and electric flex, Donal broke out of Crumlin Road Prison, running the gauntlet of searchlights, alarms and machine guns. Three years earlier, teenage Donal was convicted of membership of the IRA in the first year of Operation Harvest, the 1956-62 republican campaign in Northern Ireland. He was sentenced to ten years. Pursued in the cold, wintry days after his escape, he was given shelter and support by nationalists and republicans. Here Donal reflects on how he came to be on top of a prison wall risking his life, outlines the penal conditions in Northern Ireland and gives a graphic description of how the IRA operated. He charts his later involvement in business and his search for justice for the marginalised. This is the story of a man who overcame the hurdles of his early years to live a successful, happy life.